What is a city? Some may think of it as a concrete jungle but when we asked children from Ames Middle School, we got some unique answers during discussion.
An obvious answer is that a city is simply a big town. But another thing to consider and ask ourselves is what makes city successful? What type city would you want to live in?
Before designing the “perfect” city, we asked the kids to think about what some of their favorite things about cities are.
Here’s what we got:
“What are your favorite things to do in Ames?”
“Going to my friend’s house after school and playing video games.”
“Going to the park”
What is your favorite city that you’ve been to and why?
“Singapore because it’s cool.”
“Denver because of 16th street”
What do you want to be when you grow up?
“A baseball player.”
“A rich engineer.”
What is important for a city to have?
“Running water.”
“A restaurant.”
“An airport so people can get here.”
After discussion, we asked all the kids to work together to create a dream city of their own.
Draw a place that you would want to go to. What’s the weather like? Is it a big city or a small city?
During the process, we asked them what they included what they did onto their drawings and what other elements would be important to include. We found that there was a pattern in both of the two groups that did this workshop exercise. They all started with buildings and structures, then included roads to connect them. Then with our help, they decided that it was also important to add other things such as schools, malls, parks, and bodies of water such as lakes and rivers. Lastly, some even went as far as to create landmarks, flags, and names for the city. Images attached below are the results of this exercise.
Thank you to the kids of Ames Middle School for their help in our design process.
-Sharissa, Sandeep, and Austin
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